New class challenge launched to get children reading during World Cup 2014

With England going through to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, the National Literacy Trust is delighted to announce plans to work with the children’s football fiction author, Tom Palmer, on a World Cup literacy campaign.

A World Cup toolkit will be available to schools across the UK for no cost, to use in their classrooms and engage children through the buzz around the tournament.

The World Cup class challenge will include a daily five-minute episode based around the tournament for class reading, writing challenges and a toolkit of reading activities to use in school.

It will build on the huge successes of their 2010 World Cup Reading activities, using newspapers, magazines, books and websites to enthuse the children.

New research released this month by the National Literacy Trust shows that numbers of children reading in their own time during 2012 fell by a quarter from 2005 (28.4% compared with 38.1%). The World Cup reading scheme will support children to get enthusiastic about stories and reading for pleasure, which can enrich young people’s lives beyond the classroom and give them vital life skills.

During the last World Cup in 2010, the National Literacy Trust and Tom Palmer produced a 28-episode story which was read aloud in classrooms across the UK. The story was determined by the events of the tournament that day, written by the author at 10pm every evening and published on www.literacytrust.org.uk the next morning, before the school day began.

Tom also produced a short writing challenge based on one of the major moments of the tournament that day, on or off the pitch, and a comprehensive toolkit of ideas for literacy activities and reading events.

In 2010 our World Cup materials were downloaded 119,199 times. The toolkit – Love Football Love Reading – was used by at least 2433 schools and libraries. Over 2000 schools read all 28 episodes of The World Cup Mystery and, with most schools using it in more than one classroom, at least 100,000 children will have read all 28 episodes.

Tom Palmer said ‘I love to use football to encourage children to read because I didn’t like reading at all when I was a boy. My mum saw me struggling and used my obsession with football to get me reading newspapers and magazines, eventually building my confidence to try reading books.

Diane Baker, a year six teacher in Basildon, said: 'This comprehensive resource will provide a wealth of original and stimulating activities for teachers across the country. Tom Palmer's daily classroom read is guaranteed to thrill children across the country during the World Cup.'